Two of my classmates, N-san and the other N-san, mocked my 1000 yen gloves. They told me that I should have bought them at the Daiso, the local 100 yen shop. Of course, they pride themselves on getting the absolute best bargains, no matter what.

But I’m a little leery of buying 100 yen clothes, because I’m afraid I’m going to get some kind of awful rash or something. “It’s 100 yen for a reason,” is how I see it.

That said, tonight was extra cold, so on my way to ZigZag, when I stopped off at the Daiso to look for light bulbs (mine have been dying off at an alarming rate), I found a great 100 yen 男前 otokomae, or “manly” hat.

I couldn’t find any decent light bulbs, though.

The hat itches like hell, and looks like a 100 yen hat. But it keeps my head warm.

No rash, either. Not yet, anyway.

It’s black, so it makes me look like a burglar in one of those Hollywood “heist” movies.

In other news, D who runs ZigZag says he’ll take my excess supplies. That’s good news. It would be awful if I was forced to throw them away when I leave in a few weeks. I’m sure he can make something delicious out of them.

I managed to find a hotel for Kyoto… for Friday night. No luck at all for Saturday night. The whole town is booked solid. I’ll probably just stay at an Internet cafe. It’ll be an adventure!